Summer air shows are known for their gravity defying stunts and blockbuster deals and this year at Farnborough International Airshow has been no different with GE securing more than $17 billion in orders and commitments.

GE Aviation secured orders this week from airberlin for the advanced GEnx-1Bengine which will be mounted on 15 new 787-8 Dreamliners the company has just ordered. The deal includes a long-term service agreement and the combined deal is valued at $1.2 billion over the life of the contract.

GE secured more than $17 billion in orders and commitments

The GEnx engine is part of GE’s ecomagination product portfolio, which reflects the company’s commitment to innovative, cost-effective technologies that enhance environmental and operating performance. offers up to 15 percent better fuel efficiency and less carbon emissions than the GE CF6 engine and is 30 percent quieter.

30 million hours

More than 1,400 of the GE90 high-bypass turbofan engines are now in service on 777 passenger and cargo jets. The GE90 has been in operation since 1995 and its ecomagination-qualified -115B model, which can generate 127,900 lbs. of thrust, holds the Guinness World Record for the most powerful jet engine.

“With more than 950 GE90-powered Boeing 777 aircraft on order, we expect the flight hours to grow exponentially over the next few years as we deliver these engines,” said Bill Millhaem, general manager of GE Aviation’s GE90 engine program.

The GE90’s production rate has been growing steadily over recent years, with 225 engines expected to roll off assembly lines in 2014. The company will produce more than 180 GE90 engines this year, up from 170 engines in 2011.

In 2014, 225 GE90 engines will roll off the assembly lines

Higher production rates are needed with the orders the GE90 and the 777 have been racking up. Airline and freighter operators in 2011 placed 777-aircraft orders amounting to 400 GE90 engines, including a record-setting Emirates’ commitment for 50 GE90-115B-powered Boeings.

Introducing the GE9X

Finally, GE Aviation announced it is continuing to study a new advanced engine derived from the GE90 that is meant to power Boeing’s next-generation 777X aircraft. The company has been working with Boeing for four years on the new 777X aircraft and has designed an engine study called the GE9X.

“The GE9X is focused on improvements in fuel burn, noise and emission over the current GE90-115B engine while maintaining comparable reliability and maintenance costs,” said Millhaem.

The new engine will offer 100,000 lbs. of thrust and a 10 percent reduction in fuel burn over parent GE90. It will feature composite fan blades and case, new aerodynamics technology and other efficiency upgrades.

Photo: Courtesy GE Aviation @adamsenatori

Matthew Van Dusen is an editor at ecomagination.com. He was a reporter for ten years at newspapers in Wyoming, Indiana and New Jersey, where he covered health care, the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and government corruption. He is the former co-editor of Green Energy Reporter.